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'''Australia''', sometimes known in technical contexts by the names '''Sahul''', '''Australinea''' or '''Meganesia''', to distinguish it from the [[Australian mainland]], is a [[continent]] comprising mainland [[Australia]], [[Tasmania]], [[New Guinea]], [[New Britain]], and small neighbouring islands (such as [[Misool]] and [[Waigeo]], just to the northeast of [[Maluku Islands]] at the edge of its [[continental shelf]]). Situated in the geographical region of [[Oceania]], it is the smallest of the seven traditional continents in the English conception. Countries within the continent include [[Australia]], [[Papua New Guinea]] and, partially, [[Indonesia]].<ref name=ballard>{{cite conference |first=Chris |last=Ballard |title=Stimulating minds to fantasy? A critical etymology for Sahul |booktitle=Sahul in review: Pleistocene archaeology in Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia |pages=19–20 |publisher=Australian National University | location= Canberra |year=1993 |isbn=0-7315-1540-4 }}</ref> |
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'''Australia''', sometimes known in technical contexts by the names '''Sahul''', '''Australinea''' or '''Meganesia''', to distinguish it from the [[Australian mainland]], is a [[continent]] (not to everyone) comprising mainland [[Australia]], [[Tasmania]], [[New Guinea]], [[New Britain]], and small neighbouring islands (such as [[Misool]] and [[Waigeo]], just to the northeast of [[Maluku Islands]] at the edge of its [[continental shelf]]). Situated in the geographical region of [[Oceania]], it is the smallest of the seven traditional continents in the English conception. Countries within the continent include [[Australia]], [[Papua New Guinea]] and, partially, [[Indonesia]].<ref name=ballard>{{cite conference |first=Chris |last=Ballard |title=Stimulating minds to fantasy? A critical etymology for Sahul |booktitle=Sahul in review: Pleistocene archaeology in Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia |pages=19–20 |publisher=Australian National University | location= Canberra |year=1993 |isbn=0-7315-1540-4 }}</ref> |
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The continent lies on a [[continental shelf]] overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the [[Arafura Sea]] and [[Torres Strait]] between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and [[Bass Strait]] between mainland Australia and Tasmania. When [[sea level]]s were lower during the [[quaternary glaciation|Pleistocene ice age]], including the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] about 18,000 BC, they were connected by dry land. During the past 10,000 years, rising sea levels overflowed the lowlands and separated the continent into today's low-lying [[arid]] to [[semi-arid]] mainland and the two mountainous islands of New Guinea and Tasmania.<ref name="JohnsonPage12">{{cite book | last = Johnson | first = David Peter | year = 2004 | title = The Geology of Australia | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Port Melbourne, Victoria | id = | page = 12}}</ref> |
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The continent lies on a [[continental shelf]] overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the [[Arafura Sea]] and [[Torres Strait]] between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and [[Bass Strait]] between mainland Australia and Tasmania. When [[sea level]]s were lower during the [[quaternary glaciation|Pleistocene ice age]], including the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] about 18,000 BC, they were connected by dry land. During the past 10,000 years, rising sea levels overflowed the lowlands and separated the continent into today's low-lying [[arid]] to [[semi-arid]] mainland and the two mountainous islands of New Guinea and Tasmania.<ref name="JohnsonPage12">{{cite book | last = Johnson | first = David Peter | year = 2004 | title = The Geology of Australia | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Port Melbourne, Victoria | id = | page = 12}}</ref> |
not everyone considers australia a continent. in fact,there are many people who don't consider australia a continent.